Portsmouth council plans £31m housing investment amid budget challenges
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Like councils across the country, Portsmouth is facing financial challenges, particularly rising costs in social care and temporary accommodation. Over the past year, the number of households in temporary accommodation has risen by 54 per cent, while costs have surged by 84 per cent.
To tackle this, the council plans to invest £31m in purchasing properties for temporary housing, reducing reliance on expensive private rentals. This move is expected to ease financial pressure this year and improve the council’s budget position over the next two years.
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Hide AdCouncil Leader Cllr Steve Pitt said the budget addresses financial pressures “without reducing the services that people rely on".


“However, there are funding problems nationally with social care and temporary accommodation that need to be solved," he said. "As insufficient government support is coming forward, we want to take the proactive steps we can to address these issues and provide better solutions for our residents.
“The revenue budget savings need to come from £191m of council spending and will take the council’s total savings made in the last 14 years to £110m.
“Last year, it was forecast we would need to save £1m in this budget, but spending pressures doubled that. We need to stop this from happening in future years. By investing in our own temporary accommodation stock, we can save the council tens of millions of pounds in the next decade.”
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Hide AdThe proposals also include a maximum 4.99 per cent council tax increase, with two per cent specifically allocated for adult social care. This would raise £5.1m for the council and increase the average Band B home’s tax bill by £1.29 per week - nearly £70 annually.
Cllr Pitt said the decision was not taken lightly, adding that the “only alternative” to raising tax would be cutting services, which “would hurt our residents even more.”
If approved, the council will balance its 2025/26 budget using one-off funds, but a £4.4m deficit remains. By 2028/29, the deficit is projected to reach £9m, increasing the annual savings requirement to £3m.
In addition to the longer-term view, the council's administration is proposing £2m of savings to its revenue budget, which will be met through efficiencies and generating extra income without, it said, seeing any significant reduction in services to the public.
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Hide AdThe council will be receiving additional income from renting out new business spaces while there will be increases of 10p or 20p an hour to parking charges in certain locations, in line with existing policy. This follows a freeze on parking charges last year, meaning it is a below inflation increase over the two-year period.
The proposals also include investment in regeneration and economic development, such as future development of the city centre.
Funding has been allocated to develop options for regenerating Guildhall Square and looking at potentially moving away from the current Civic Office site or use it more efficiently, alongside continued financial support for the City Centre North project creating new housing, leisure and retail space to the area.
The budget proposals will be considered at the council's cabinet meeting on February 11 and if accepted will then go to the full council meeting on February 25 for approval.
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